A Retrospective Proof-of-Concept Study of the Impact of Point of Care Ultrasound During Short-Term Surgical Missions.

Abstract

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS)-use during short-term surgical missions (STSMs) to resource-limited settings has not been well studied. We conducted a retrospective analysis of POCUS use during the perioperative course of patients undergoing definitive surgical treatment over the course of two STSMs. A total of 58 perioperative POCUS exams were performed by emergency physicians on our team. Operative findings correlated with POCUS results in 90% of cases that underwent surgery, while surgery was deferred based on POCUS findings in 33% of scans. Our findings suggest that POCUS is a portable, rapid and cost-effective modality that can be used in a focused manner in the perioperative period. Specifically, our inter-disciplinary experience and results demonstrate that POCUS-use has a positive impact on patient safety and quality, and optimizes the use of valuable resources and time.